TORONTO – On Sunday the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) will launch from Cape Canaveral aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The satellite will monitor space weather, including geomagnetic storms, solar wind observations and more, all of which have an impact here at home.
READ MORE: How solar storms could leave us in the dark
However, once the rocket leaves the pad, many eyes will be on SpaceX.
This is the second time this year that the private space company will attempt to land the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket on a floating spaceport drone ship.
The last attempt, on Jan. 10, had some measure of success: the rocket did make it back to the relatively small platform (91 metres by 30 metres), but it ran out of hydraulic fluid and crashed.
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk’s goal is to develop rocket reusability in order to make launches more affordable. He has plans to eventually land a larger version of the rocket — the Falcon 9 Heavy — back on Earth.
READ MORE: Boeing, SpaceX rides to space will save NASA millions
Earlier this month, Musk tweeted out the names of his ships: Of Course I Still Love You and Just Read the Instructions, the names of two sentient, planet-sized starships that appeared in science-fiction author Iain M. Banks’ Culture novels.
DSCVR is scheduled to launch at 6:10 p.m. Sunday.
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